Surrogation at its Apex
With a snap of his claw, the draconequus Discord vanished in a flash of light, taking the group of Equestrians with him.
The reborn changelings were alone now, left with nothing but their startling transformation and the uncertain future that laid before them. A throng of compound eyes turned towards the center of the hive’s decimated throne room, fixating on the catalyst for this great change: Thorax.
Standing tall in the evening sun, Thorax stared out at the distant horizon. The chilled air swept over his carapace, focusing his thoughts. Firstly, he took note that he was now twice his former size, with massive antlers sprouting from his head. But almost immediately after came a wave of unbridled excitement and anticipation for the future. Chrysalis’s merciless grip of control had finally been released. A day Thorax had only ever dreamed of had finally become a reality.
Of course, not even he could have dreamed up this outcome.
“So...do we call you ’King Thorax’ now, or what?” spoke a male voice from the back of the room. With that, the ice was broken, and other changelings soon began to speak up, as well.
“Did all of that really just happen?” a blue-shaded changeling asked aloud, raising a hoof and scanning her colorful body. “I mean, I’m on board for fast food, but...why do we have wings for tails? Wing tails? Tail wings? I don’t even know.”
“Forget the tails. Does anyling have any inkling as to what decided our colors? I’m starting to ask myself questions I never thought I would,” a male drone with a bright fuchsia color scheme asked the room, drawing numerous stares.
Shaken from his trance, Thorax turned to face the masses. The changelings were now chattering amongst themselves. Some of them sported broad smiles, while others harbored hardened frowns. Thorax watched their interactions closely as he formulated what he wanted to say. After a moment, he took a deep breath and stepped forward, butterflies racing inside his stomach.
“Um, hey, everyling. I know I haven’t seen you all in...well, quite some time.” Thorax paused for a moment to relish the fact his voice hadn’t changed, too. “All the same, I wanted to say thank you. When I first left the hive, I wanted to discover friendship; not just to experience it, but to learn about it. I had hoped to return someday and share that knowledge with all of you. I believed we could find a way to share love between one another so that we wouldn’t need to take it from others.”
Thorax paused again, observing the various faces staring back at him—blank expressions, raised eyebrows, small smiles, uninterested looks, and even a few amused ones. He smiled to himself as his stomach butterflies became a warmth spreading throughout his chest. Unique personalities were gazing back at him, not uniform drones.
“Well, things didn’t turn out quite as I imagined they would, but the most important thing I hoped for has come to pass. We got here thanks to all of you giving shared love a chance. I gotta be honest, I look around at all of you right now, and I’m just so happy. This is all I ever wanted for us all along. So again, thank you.”
Thorax gave the crowd a big smile to cap off his speech, but for a long moment, all he got for his efforts was an occasional blink or tilted head.
“Rest assured, Saccharine Thorax is back, everyling,” an orange drone announced from the crowd. Light snickering ensued, and a tinted blush touched Thorax’s cheeks.
“I mean, I guess you’re welcome, ‘Your Highness,’ but frankly, who’s going to say no to ‘no more starving’?” another drone added. Several nods followed. “I dunno if Chrysalis knew about this or not, but either way, it’s looking like she willingly kept things in a status quo. You’re a soft-shell, Thorax, but I’m at a point where I’d rather eat happily for once with a newbie king than continue starving for an experienced queen.”
There was an even larger consensus of nodding, along with murmurs of agreement.
“To that end though ‘King Thorax’,” an oceanic blue drone said abruptly, trotting out to the front of the group with a sass-ridden smile. “You’ve successfully usurped Chrysalis, made friends with Equestria, updated our food system, and cuteified everyling in the process. It took you a whole, what, half an hour? Dare I ask what’s next?”
Ignoring the drone’s mocking tone, Thorax turned to face the dilapidated state of the hive. The dark throne’s destruction had eradicated not only the throne room, but the entire observation deck above it and several tunnels leading up to it. Thorax furrowed his brows as he weighed his options.
“Well, we should probably start by rebuilding our home,” he said simply, raising his voice enough for everyling to hear him. “I don’t know about all of you, but I think I’d rather put in some effort to start from scratch and create a new hive. If we don't try to put our mark on it, this will always feel like Chrysalis’s hive, even if she’s no longer here.”
Thorax didn’t turn around, but he didn’t have to—the long silence that followed was enough to make him sweat.
“You don’t sound very confident, Thorax.”
“Yeah, if you’re going to lead us, you need to be sure of yourself,” said another. “We know you’re not the ‘bark orders’ type, but you at least need to know what you want to do, and what you want us to do.”
Thorax fidgeted in place; he knew the criticism was on point. He turned around wearing an awkward smile.
“Sorry, you guys. It might take me a little while to get used to this. I am certain that I want to recreate our hive as our own. To reinvent our home, now that we’ve reinvented ourselves.”
The crowd adopted, for the most part, positive looks.
“Normally, I’d say hard work is bogus,” a sky blue drone near the front stated, looking around at some of the others. “But I’ve done absolutely nothing but patrol, patrol, and patrol some more for weeks. I’ll be happy to do something a little more constructive.”
“Does this mean we get to knock this thing down first?” a purple drone inquired excitedly, tapping a hoof on the ground a few times. “I’m always up for demolition.”
Thorax couldn’t keep himself from chuckling. An electric jolt raced through his body.
“Alright, everyling, I guess my first question is who here has been the hive’s lead guard changelings since I left? I’d like some help in organizing some teams together. If we really put our all into it, I bet we can get a new hive done in a matter of weeks.”
The eager king’s newfound determination fell on deaf ears. The group’s attention had shifted altogether to another part of the room, with everyling having turned their head. Utterly confused, Thorax followed the path of their stares, just as the sound of moving stones tinged his ear. There, among the larger piles of rubble, the bug monarch saw something that caused his upbeat thoughts to crash and burn.
Emerging through the rubble from the passageways below was a young changeling nymph, still coal-black with pointed fangs and hollowed-out legs. Thorax could see caked dust coating its body, even its tiny wings. Most striking, however, was the look of fear and confusion etched across its face and the fresh tears trailing from its eyes.
“...w-what’s going on?” the nymph asked, his voice plagued by shakes. “W-why is everyling so different? W-what happened to the hive?”
Looks of concern and surprise shot through the crowd like wildfire. Several drones made their way over to the vulnerable nymph to dust him off and help him to his hooves.
“Why is he alone? Did he just crawl up here through a collapsed tunnel by himself?” a yellow female hissed.
Another drone mumbled. “Every available drone in the hive was summoned to the throne room before the change happened. I think we’ve all been here since."
“Are you kidding me!? You’re telling me no one stayed behind in the nursery hive to watch the brood? No one!?”
“All of the intruders were captured or accounted for in the throne room, so the order for maximum security convergence on the throne room was given! Don’t look at me. It was Chrysalis’s order, not mine!”
Though he struggled the entire time, the nymph was finally brushed free of dirt; but it didn’t take long for him to kick his way out of his elders' grasp. Desperately wiping away his tears, he backed himself against a pile of rocks, legs shaking nearly as bad as his voice.
“L-leave me alone! I-I wanna know what happened to the hive! Someling, please tell me! Were we attacked?”
The crowd remained frozen and silent.
“Someling, please tell me!” The nymph stomped his tiny hoof against the floor. He hiccuped upon each new sentence and could not stop the tears pouring down his face. “I wanna know what happened!”
The dead silence continued. No one knew what to say or how to say it. There was no easy answer.
Before long, the young changeling sat back on his haunches, curling himself up and diverting his gaze to the ground. The air filled with the lonely sounds of withdrawn sniffing and the occasional hiccup.
But soon, there was another sound. Thorax's modest hoof falls slowly made their way across the room, passing by the numerous and still changelings. As he walked, the empathetic eyes of every drone followed him, watching and waiting with bated breath.
As Thorax drew nearer, the nymph looked up once more, tearful eyes going wide at the sight of the large antlered changeling. But just as Thorax’s intimidating shadow befell the little drone, he lowered himself to the ground so as to appear non-threatening. Once comfortably seated before the nymph, Thorax met those tearful eyes with a warm and caring smile.
“Hey, little guy,” Thorax said quietly, his voice just above a whisper and filled with a kind, paternal tone. “I understand that you’re scared, but you don’t have to worry. Everyling is just fine. My name is Thorax. I’ve been away from the hive for a while, so I don’t believe we’ve met before. What’s your name?”
The tiny drone wiped his face again in a frustrated manner, as if embarrassed by his display of tears. He continued to stare at the tall changeling with a mixture of fascination and uncertainty. He made no movements to back away or avoid his gaze.
“...I’m A-Apex."
Thorax’s warm smile begot a grin, putting his pearly teeth on display. "I really like that name. I’m glad to meet you, Apex. Are you the only nymph in the hive right now?”
“...no. The others are too young to talk yet. I was taking a nap in the nursery hive with them when there was a r-really loud noise.”
“Is that why you decided to come up here?” Thorax laid down on his side to gain a more comfortable position.
Apex remained quiet for a moment. He turned his water-logged eyes towards Thorax’s hooves, avoiding all eye contact with him or any other changeling in an effort to maintain his composure. All the same, tiny droplets of salted water continued to strike the ground in front of his hooves.
“I-I waited for someling to come and tell me what was happening, but no one came. So, I made sure the others were okay, and then I came to see what had happened but the tunnels were all collapsed. So I waited in the tunnels for somel-ling again, but there was still no one. I heard voices up this way, so I t-told m-myself I had to be brave and come look, so I did my best to dig through the tunnel.”
Changelings around the room looked on with pained faces of growing guilt and sympathy. Several drones began fiercely digging through the collapsed tunnels, reaching the nursery hive their only priority now. But despite the noisy distractions, Apex’s attention remained fixated on the regal changeling, who continued to watch him with such focus and care. No changeling had ever looked at him so genuinely. No changeling had ever taken the time to sit down with him, trying to comprehend his feelings.
“I’m sorry you were all left alone down there, Apex,” Thorax said, his voice calm and soothing still. “You know, I think you’re really brave for coming up here by yourself. Because you did, now we can check on the others and make sure they’re okay, too. So don’t worry, everything’s gonna be fine.”
Apex coughed through his clogged sinuses but nodded in acknowledgment. He dropped his eyes to the stone floor again, thoughts returning to the overwhelming changes all around him. The more he thought, the less he understood, and thus all the more he wished to inquire more.
“What happened to everyling, Thorax?”
Thorax’s eyes swam in the little nymph’s. For a moment, he refrained from answering, taking time to gather his thoughts.
“Apex, do you know what changelings feed off of?” Thorax asked at last, getting a scrutinous look in reply.
“Um, love. Everyling knows that.”
“Well, for a long time, changelings thought love was something that had to be taken.” Thorax broke his gaze to glance around the room. With the situation well in hoof, most of the remaining changelings had taken to lounging in the pleasant day’s breeze, the evening sun glistening off their shells.
“It turns out love has been inside us all along, inside of each other.” Thorax turned back to Apex. He could feel his heart swell at the sight of the tiny drone’s perplexed face. “That’s why everyling looks different. For the first time, they decided to share love, instead of taking it from others.”
“I don’t get it,” Apex said flatly. Thorax absently rubbed the back of his head and laughed.
“Yeah, that’s alright. It took me a while to understand how it worked, too.”
“So then, what about Queen Chrysalis?” Apex couldn't spot the queen’s jagged horn in the crowd, nor hear her loud, shrill voice. “Did she turn into a rainbow changeling, too?”
“Well, she didn’t believe sharing love was the answer,” Thorax explained with a grimace, treading carefully on the subject. “After everyling else changed form, she left the hive. I don’t know where she went, but I don’t think she’ll be coming back.”
Apex nodded, his attention shifting to the buzzing chatter of the other changelings. He was entranced by all the older changelings sitting around the room together, talking together, and laughing together.
“Everyling looks so happy, Thorax. I’ve never seen it before. The only time I ever saw anyling smile was when they were wrestling or teasing.”
Thorax nodded in reply, equally as enraptured.
“You wanna know something? For a long time, I never really fit in with anyling,” Thorax said, returning a warm smile to changelings whenever they met his gaze. “I ran away from the hive because I didn’t like those wrestling and teasing games, and I didn’t like to steal love from others. And, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to come back again.”
Apex’s attention was rallied again. He maneuvered himself at an angle, looking up at the tall bug pony with nurtured interest.
“But then, when I made my first friend, I discovered that I didn’t need to feed as long as I had him. And when I finally did return to the hive, even when I was against the odds, I had even more friends there to support me. And now...”
Thorax’s lip quivered. A world once so far away had sprouted before him, and at that moment, the full reality of what had been accomplished today weighed upon his being. The sights and sounds of genuine conversations and laughs filled his mind, an overpowering force that left him at the mercy of his sheer bliss.
“And now...everyling knows exactly how I feel. For the very first time, everyling has friends.”
Like a tipping trail of dominoes, the calm composure he had put forth fell apart. With sparkling teardrops falling from his eyes, Thorax covered his face with one leg, light sobs escaping him. His body gave a sudden jolt of surprise when a small hoof placed itself against his side. Thorax bridged the view of his foreleg to find Apex’s innocent face staring back at him, unperturbed by his moment of weakness.
“I think it’s really great that you care so much about us, Thorax,” Apex said. “To me, it makes you seem like a...like a papa changeling. I mean, we’ve never, ever had one before, but...I think this is what it’d be like to have one. And that makes me really happy too because I think it’d be nice to have a papa changeling.”
Apex wrapped his hooves around Thorax's front leg in an affectionate embrace. His face lit up with the same bright smile his fellow changelings shared. Feeling his chest ignite at the adorable gesture, Thorax held the nymph with his other leg. The two remained calm and still for a long while, allowing themselves to relax in the mutual display of love.
“Thorax, do you think if I called you ‘Papa Thorax,’ other changelings would start to as well?”
Thorax chuckled through the remainder of his tears, gently caressing the nymph’s back with his hoof.
“To be honest, I have no idea, but if you'd like to try it, you're more than welcome to.”
It was then that Thorax noticed a sudden light filling his view, first subtle but growing steadily more vibrant. He watched with rising surprise as a dazzling white light enveloped Apex’s body. From all around the throne room, other changelings were torn from their conversations by the stunning sight, until every single one of them was watching in excitement.
A brilliant white cocoon ruptured in another flash of light, revealing Apex for all the hive to see. The tiny changeling now sported a deep green exoskeleton, highlighted by deep ruby eyes, and a tail and carapace to match. Upon realizing what had happened, he began to spin around excitedly, comparing his own look to those around him. After a few moments, he extended his tiny red wings and frantically buzzed them, turning to Thorax with a toothy grin.
“Papa Thorax, I-I changed! I changed like everyling else!” he exclaimed, jumping up and down and eliciting laughs from all the surrounding drones. Thorax beamed in shared excitement, and pride.
“You look great, Apex!” he said sincerely, gently resting a hoof on the nymph's head. "What you did just now, with me? That was sharing love.”
Biting his lip, Apex orbited his head around Thorax’s hoof like a cat enjoying a scratch behind the ear.
“Wait up, ’Papa Thorax?’” a drone beside Thorax repeated shrewdly, relishing the slightly embarrassed look Thorax gave in reply. “Oh, Apex, you’re a genius. That fits Thorax perfectly.”
“Much more catchy than ’Saccharine Thorax’,” the teasing blue changeling from earlier added on. “And the other nymphs will be able to pronounce it, too. Couldn’t have come up with a better nickname for our new king, myself.”
“I know! He’s so friendly and kind. He’s just like everyling’s papa changeling!” Apex exclaimed, blissfully unaware of the other drones' sly smiles. “See, Papa Thorax? It’s already catching on! I knew everyling would like it!”
“You’re right. It sure looks like they do,” Thorax murmured with a meek smile, nonchalantly avoiding the rabid grins of his former peers. To change the subject before his face resembled a pomegranate, he turned to the tunnels leading to the rest of the hive, which had now been thoroughly dug out. A few changelings stood guard by them, patiently waiting for the rest to come inside.
“I think it’s time we headed back into the hive, guys,” Thorax announced, raising a hoof. “I want to check on the nursery hive personally, and meeting with the hive’s lead guardlings would be great as well. As for everyling else, I’d like you all to take the rest of the day to relax. It’s been a really eventful day, and I think we could all use a rest.”
A soft buzz of murmurs followed the order, and within moments, changelings began forming lines to head through the dug-out tunnels in a single-file fashion. But that orderly fashion was short-lived. Soon, shoving and discontented chirps erupted as lines merged into chaotic clumps of colorful bug ponies. The guard drones at the tunnels' head looked less than impressed by the sudden strife, and chose to intervene.
“One at a time—hey, one at a time! So help me, I will leave any of you sorry bugs behind if you’re dumb enough to get stuck going in alongside someling else,” a sassy bright green guard drone barked. After a few sheepish looks and awkward coughs, changelings began to dash through the narrow tunnels quickly and efficiently.
Following the vanishing crowd at the rear, Thorax took the opportunity to look around the remainder of the throne room to ensure nothing and noling was left behind. Satisfied, he turned again, only to be startled by a familiar face hovering in front of him.
“Someling sure looks excited,” Thorax commented.
“Yeah! I really like red!” Apex replied with glee, his wings picking up speed along with his boundless excitement. “Red is such an awesome color! It’s like, 'I mean business, but I’m also really cool'-whooaaa!”
Thorax jumped in surprise for what felt like the eighth time that day. Apex crashed into his head with a light bonk, gasping loudly and frantically wrapping his hooves around an antler for support. Thorax tilted his head as a counter-balanced scale.
“Um, are you okay?” he asked, conflicted between chuckling and feeling concerned.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine...”, Apex stammered, carefully dropping himself down to the ground and subtly darting his eyes. But Thorax was not blind to the little nymph’s telling body language. He smirked until Apex’s curious face looked up at him once more.
“Apex, are you still learning to fly?” The big changeling couldn't resist putting on a cute voice.
“No way! I’m a good flyer!” Apex retorted desperately, taking a jump into the air before fluttering his wings again. Moments after, however, his wings gave out yet again, and the drone planted himself on his face.
Thorax’s smirk evolved into something more skeptical. Apex puffed out his cheeks like an angry blowfish and wiped the dust from his shiny new carapace.
“Okay, so maybe sometimes I crash when my wings get tired,” the nymph grumbled under his breath. “It’s no big deal.”
Thorax beamed, relishing the image of Apex trotting along by his side, barely half the height of his leg. Even compared to full-grown changelings, he was rather tall now. It was certainly going to take him some time to get used to that; shape-shifting into larger things temporarily was one thing, but living as something so tall was going to be another.
But then again, it also gave him an idea.
“You know, Apex, if you’re tired, you don’t have to walk,” Thorax said simply, once again rousing the drone’s attention. “If you’d like a ride while you rest your wings, I don’t mind.”
“You mean like, ride on your back?” Apex asked quizzically.
“Well...actually, I was thinking you could ride on my head. You’d get a better view up there, plus I’d rather keep my back free in case I need to use my wings. Just promise me you'll be careful around my antlers, okay?"
Only his expression upon changing form could eclipse the grin now spreading across Apex’s face. Thorax bowed to the ground, and the little changeling climbed atop the alpha’s head, carefully positioning himself between Thorax’s robust antlers. The little drone felt a flutter in his chest as Thorax assumed his normal height, and for once, all the other drones fell beneath Apex’s hooves.
“Well, what do you think?” Thorax inquired, rolling his eyes upwards in a vain attempt to make out the nymph’s expression.
"This is so awesome! Papa Thorax, I didn’t realize just how tall you are! I can see so much more, and I don’t even have to fly!”
“Believe me, I’m going to have to get used to it, too.” Thorax eyed the three singular changelings left in the throne room. They had remained steadfast to their post by the tunnels, awaiting their new king. But the closer Thorax got to them, the more they avoided eye contact and shifted in place uncomfortably.
“Uh, Your Highness?” the bright green guard said suddenly, as if waiting for the right moment to interrupt. “No offense meant, but I don’t think you’ll be able to fit through the tunnels we dug—not anymore. I, uh, forgot to make them large enough to accommodate you. My mistake.”
“Psst. She’s saying you’re fat, Papa Thorax,” Apex hissed playfully into the big changeling’s ear. The guard drone’s eyes widened in shock, but Thorax simply laughed.
“Well, I certainly won’t be able to fit through certain doorways now, that’s for sure. It’s alright, though. I don’t need to use the tunnels. Apex and I will go find a more scenic route.”
“Yeah! Papa Thorax, I want you to fly all the way above the hive, and then, and then dive-bomb all the way down!”
Thorax started to laugh again, using one hoof to jostle Apex from his perch in an attempt to tickle him. The guard drones watched the two interact in awe, mouths slightly agape at the pure scene playing out in front of them.
“You know, I don’t think dive-bombing with a nymph on my head would be a good first action as king,” Thorax stated, his modest grin turning devious while Apex fought against his hoof’s onslaught.
"It’d be the most memorable one, though!” Apex protested, squirming around to keep up his defense. “Besides, if you do, I’ll tell everyling, and then you’ll be instantly cool! You just have to promise to give me twice as many dive-bomb rides as you give all the other nymphs!"
Thorax rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the trio of drones still watching him.
“Can you three please go inside as well and round up the hive’s lead guard changelings? I want to talk with everyling about a few things. I’ll be in shortly. Before I find another entrance, I want to stretch my wings and see if I can’t calm a certain someling down.”
The drones nodded without a word. The newly-crowned monarch took to the sky, quickly vanishing around the side of the hive, and Apex’s fading protests echoed through the air.
“Calm me down!? I was taking a nap before everyling woke me up with their throne room explosions, Papa Thorax! It’s your fault that I’m totally wired!...”
The room soon became silent once more, and the trio of guards exchanged glances.
“...Well, that was way too adorable. I think I just gained ten pounds.”
“Can we just talk for a minute about how we went from a tyrannical, conquest-hungry monarch to an attentive dad-ling in the space of half an hour? How do you even do that?”
“If we start having hive-wide cuddle parties or something, I’m going to go live incognito with the dragons.”
For me, one of the greatest things about Thorax's new role is the idea that he can be more than Chrysalis ever was. More than just a leader or king, he can be a surrogate parent to the changelings. 
I mean honestly, what else would a cinnamon roll too precious for this world do upon becoming king? 
Consider this my take on what immediately followed the final scene with the changelings in the S6 finale. I also wanted to give some backstory into the unique relationship Thorax and my changeling OC, Apex have together later on in The King of Love Bugs. 
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- NavelColt · 145k words · 730 24 · 17k views
- NavelColt · 4k words · 119 6 · 3.3k views
- NavelColt · 3.6k words · 181 10 · 3.7k views
- NavelColt · 4.8k words · 272 17 · 9.5k views
- NavelColt · 3.1k words · 406 10 · 6.5k views
- NavelColt · 3.2k words · 172 11 · 6.5k views
- NavelColt · 8k words · 128 8 · 4.3k views
- NavelColt · 5.9k words · 744 14 · 21k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.191 seconds
Total duration
595 users online
742,616 hits today, 1,892,089 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This was adorable in every since of the word. I look forward to seeing more updates in your other story.
Also...
img.memesuper.com/ede35302e4d7e21b231ec4dd04a1bd43_a-diabetes-meme-meme-diabetes_600-327.jpeg
This is so...good. I love this. More people need to see this story, as it shows why the new changelings can be used as a good storytelling idea.
That cover looked a bit sinister for a second XD
Anyway, YAY MORE CHANGELING CUTENESS
Thorax is best cinnamon roll bughorse daddy.
All is connected in ways the wisest of all cannot begin to fathom. From a kicked dog or few cents in the cup of the half mad man on the street corner to great wars that shake the very timbers of creation that end or begin tyrannies, deeds move people in ways that no power of mortals could hope to control with words or force of arms
Raise him well Thorax... one person can change the world
That would suggest that Chrysalis didn't treat them like her children. Also doesn't that kinda mean that changelings can't procreate further?
8097458 She seemed more interested in using them as tools than treating them like her valued children. x) So yes, that's exactly what it's suggesting. I never bought into the 'Mommy Chrysalis' fanon concept, and honestly the show never made any good case to support it.
That's been asked several times on my other story, and what I generally say is I'm not sure. Since the show may or may not delve into that in the future, I've decided to avoid the topic inside my changeling stories for now. :)
8097464 If you expect to be canon with changelings when everything about them is litterally made up on the spot you're gonna have a bad time.
An example would litterally be that Chrysalis should have transformed first in the final episode and the transformation doesn't make any sense. Everything is taken at face value.
8097486 The changelings? True, they've been given no canon personalities or canon info really. Chrysalis on the other hand has had three consistent appearances of doing absolutely nothing but being a classic Disney-esque villan with no detailed personality outside, 'everyone worship me, watch as I do evil things'.
All her dialogue, all her actions have been motivated by her selfish need for power, and as the finale showed, she'd have rather kept her kind starving so she could continue ruling the way she wanted to, than to have let the changelings find a better way with Thorax.
No one's verbatim said proof one way or the other, no. But post-S6, 'terrible mom and terrible ruler' is looking more likely than her actually caring about the changeling's well-being, outside scenarios where it benefited her.
8097496 I don't think she's selfish in the sense that she's doing it for herself. She repeats that she wants to feed the changelings again and again. The problem is that Chrysalis imposes her will, or better yet her "vision" on her changelings. She's not selfish, she doesn't force others to worship her. She's dogmatic.
She imposes a status quo and sticks with it but that's not the problem in itself. If she just wanted order among her hive she could be smart about it while still imposing the hierarchy of things. The problem is she doesn't accept other opinions, she's not adaptive about this, she's not "changing".
Every tyrant in the history of ever did something good for the people they ruled. They didn't just force their will upon the people's throats. Ancient Greek tyrants built aqueducts, redistributed land, and with that the people allowed them some leniency since their will was served in the greater scheme of things.
Hitler instilled the fear of communism and made false flag attacks on Poland and managed to gather support to this cause democratically, and not through force.
Chrysalis is no different if you ask me. She's a dogmatic leader who says "Follow me and I will lead you to greatness" or "I have experience trust me.". Changelings wouldn't have followed her in the first place if she didn't do something right, and even if she usurpered the throne she'd have to have assistance to do so.
It is likely that Chrysalis offered results but offered nothing long term and was never willing to negotiate or use diplomacy. As a result though her regime was sucessful and benefited the changelings in the end it was stagnant. The problem is that it is unrealistic to say that Thorax was the only one that defected or shared this belief, but at the same time it's unrealistic to think that all of Chrysalis' changelings were willing to abandon her at the first chance they got. But then again this is where the "face value" of the show comes to place. The whole concept of "a chosen one" betraying the regime and suddenly changing all of the regime's supporters into good guys is ridiculous. Not to mention that there is no cause and consequence in this thing. Or the entire show for that matter. Nobody is punished for their sins.
My opinion is that despite what Chrysalis did the main culprit and guilty person of this whole issue are the changelings themselves. They got manipulated in their desperation and chose a bad leader, but when it came to ditching that bad leader nobody ever aired a hiss except Thorax. They were complacent and satisfied with their situation and feared that if they abandoned Chrysalis they would lose everything. Rather than risk it like Thorax they awaited a new leader and then came Thorax with the solution.
The changelings need to learn how to rule themselves otherwise this is going to happen again.
Sorry for overthinking this but then again taking it at face value is equally bad for me.
8097525 Fine by me, discussing things is great, I'm just afraid your full argument and what you were trying to argue for wasn't perfectly clear up until that last large response. x) Your initial reply simply sounded like you weren't sure why Chrysalis wouldn't care for the changelings as a mother, so that's what my entire point was responding to, that's it. I brought up Chrysalis's character to lead to that point.
After all this is a story and discussion regarding the personal relations, not the politics.
8097530 Sorry not particularly good being organised.
What I mean to say is Chrysalis may have well loved her changelings like a mother, but some mothers tend to get emotionally attached and strict suffocating their children's progress. Chrysalis is both a mother and a Queen. Therefore just like an overprotective mother she acted dogmatically in raising and ruling her children. In the end however the changelings are to blame for this as well. They could, and should have tried to stop her or change her mind or leave.
The rest of the argument is about how revolution and change doesn't come from one person like shows seem to suggest. In real life there's no "chosen one/s".
8097541 Alright, yeah we'll just have to agree to disagree with her character, then. x) She doesn't even remotely come off as a strict regulating mother to me, she comes off as an obsessive tyrant who used her children as tools. If she did care for them, it was too buried by her incredibly unstable personality and obsession with power to have ever reared itself in a noteable fashion.
As for the changelings, yeah, I can't say the rushed ending worked well. But then again, it never does. It's the same problem with most major holes in this show - time constraints. Everyone including myself has had to fill in the blanks for what the changelings were thinking before, during and after the reformation, seeing as Thorax is the only changeling we've gotten backstory on.
What's worked for me is that the changelings grew complacent and used to the way things were. Because Chrysalis was probably in power for so damn long, all the changelings were raised by her, knew no better way. For all we know, Thorax wasn't the only drone to try and leave, but may have been the only one to get away successfully. After all,
'When I find him, he'll learn just what happens to those who betray the hive'.
But because the ending lacked any reasoning on part of the drones, everyone will have different ideas, and won't agree with all others. And that's fine. Honestly I'm just enjoying the new dynamic, seeing as I'm a sucker for fluff and cute things. Thorax, King Cinnamon Roll enjoying being among his own kind again, and the drones finally enjoying not starving all the time.
Wait... there are female drones? From the birthing chamber scene in Season 6's finale, it looked like Chrysalis was the only female. Or at least the only female that could give birth to drones.
Um, what's your headcanon for that/
8097650 My headcanon is that there are females, yes. You'll see 'she' useage in this story along with my other one. I would think only a female that becomes a queen can lay eggs, though. Not really sure. Maybe they become a queen through some special means like how alicorns are made.
8097570 That's just a perspective. Without insight on how the hive worked and how the Queen ruled we don't exactly know what caused all this.
As for the changelings yes they did grow complacent but there's cuplicity (sorry if I spelled that incorrectly) in the blame.
8097650 That might have just been Chrysalis who was there that moment. Nobody says she was the only female and Hasbro won't exactly show genitals for you to figure that out. Don't try to use earth insect sociobiology to explore this because from the moment you mixed two different species one being a mammal and another being an insect you have to decide what they are more of.
In all honesty since the old changelings and the new changelings don't exactly have different shapes for each gender ((unlike ponies)) you cannot clearly know who is what gender.
The show was never interested in providing any believable headcanon in a children's cartoon show just like it didn't care to show you how Celestia having her immense telekinetic powers that manipulate the freaking sun... can't seem to push away a cloud or defeat Chrysalis.
8097746
... Okay what. Sorry did I offend you in some way? I literally just asked him what his headcanon was just out of interest and you go on some accusation saying I should treat it like a children's show and should not take it seriously.
Why can't I assume they have similarities to insects, when they look like insects, have a queen, live in a hive. And I didn't even say the author was wrong, I just asked him, what was his headcanon so I would know how he would approach this story.
second of all, why can't I take the show seriously and ask them to make sense. Avatar: The Last Airbender had canon that made sense. Most Shounen anime usually have some kind of system that explains their stuff. Steven Universe is a children show, but it has grounded rules. Adventure Time's world is diverse, but also has clear cut rules. The point being, you can't wipe away inconsistency and vagueness with saying "A children's show" anymore because there are too many good ones out there to point to and say... "well that makes complete sense."
Aw, that was too cute.
8097758 No I am not offended. I'm just saying that it's not exactly clear what the gender ratio in changelings is. Changelings unlike ponies don't have different shapes to distringuish the males and females.
And you can't exactly use insect biology because two species mix here one mamal one insect. Then there's magic. That is all in regards to what is canon. I know you did because it's the usual fanon. I have some knowledge of it since my father kept bee hives for a time.
Now in your stories you can very well do whatever you wish. Hey I even have established a medieval House political order with changelings gathering around central royal families.
Sorry I should be more careful how I type. Btw I have read your story and I'm about to read the sequel.
Thorax doesn't get nearly enough love from the fandom so stuff like this is very much appreciated!
I like how there's this story about Thorax being the good guy being nice and everything, and then there's another featured story where he's a d**k to Twilight Sparkle. XD
8097803 But the first episode of Season 7 shows there are females and males because of the way their voices sound.
Your going to have to visit the Dragonlands sometime in King of the Lovebugs now. That one changeling probably is living with Ember
8098137 Really? I haven't seen it yet because I was sleeping after a club night and then eating with family for easter.
Saw who this is by, and what it's about. Instantly favorited.
8099583 Oh yeah. You can find an English version of the episode and the second episode on the Russian MLP channel over on YouTube. The audio is a little bit messed, but you'll clearly hear what they're saying.
Good to see that Thorax is showing by example that even though the ideals of the Changelings have changed, that doesn't mean they can't distribute love by other means and it warms my heart to see the nymph and Thorax coming together in due time.
8108596
Great to see you online again, Gleaming. Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed it~ 
8108610 No problem, I returned just to comment on your story. :) I make my leave once again.
Thorax is just great in this.
He reminds me of another certain king.
And that's reference to 'The Substitute Demon'. dude!!
Hey Reykan, please...... Give us, your loyal readers, another chapter to read man!
NavelColt, buddy, you almost made me cry, you devious bastard
Here, take all of this, I grovel to you oh brilliant one. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy
Oh the feelsssssssss!
Well, bad for you.
8218899
The Reign of King Bugmoose brings all the cuddling!
He shall learn.
Wow. Loved all of this story!
Hnnnnnnggggggg
This was very sweet!
D'aww. This one got me right in the feels.
LOVED THIS! TOO GOOD
Seriously, your take on the new changlings is the best one Ive ever seen. I no longer dislike the fact that thorax usurped chrysalis.
Apex is adorable and Thorax is ALWAYS adorable. I loved him in the episode with Spike and when he became king. I also loved his interactions with his brother in the S7 episode with Starlight and Trixie. Sooooo cute.
So is Apex kinda like a son figure to Thorax?
Just Asking.
Are you trying to kill me with all this adorableness?
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
8780365
Sorry for the late reply! That was the idea, yes. I love the idea of Thorax being a father, because his attentive, caring nature is a form of paternal parenting not typically shown, so I decided to create a character for him to have that kind of relationship with. By extension, Thorax could be called a paternal figure towards all the changelings in the hive, in this story, save his own brother.
This story, and even more so in The King of Love Bugs, is all about how the new changelings share a very close-knit hierarchy within their hive, to the point of appearing more like a family than a leader and his followers, at times.
On that note, assuming Ocellus isn't Thorax's child, this whole idea has been built on by how affectionate and supportive he was with her, in 'School Daze'. :3 I imagine Thorax is loving and attentive towards all the hive's nymphs, just as he was with her.
8851142
media1.tenor.com/images/85c94e67662fba4e1f6ebd250aa9a2fa/tenor.gif
8099108
On that note, you may enjoy my latest one shot. :P May or may not be references waiting for anybody who read this story!
--> Lingering Shadows
...because thorax is a Gary Stu
Unfortunately, I do not have the patience to list every single thing that I liked about this story. So I’ll just say that I liked it a lot.
*LOUD BURPS*
Yeesh, you weren't kidding about the ten pounds thing. I need to go exercise now.